State of Illinois Funding Sources

• Community Development Assistance Program for Economic Development (CDAP): A federally funded program designed to provide grants to units of local government for economic development activities related to business retention or expansion opportunities. A local government may request grant funds of up to $750,000, and the funds may be used for machinery and equipment, working capital, and building construction and renovation.  Funds may also be used for improvements to public infrastructure that directly support a specific project.

• Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Program (EDGE): Designed to offer a special tax incentive to encourage companies to locate or expand operations in Illinois when there is active consideration of a competing location in another State.
• Allows a firm to reduce the costs of doing business in Illinois when compared with similar costs in other states where it could have located its operation
• Available to the company for up to a total of 10 years for each project
• Provides tax credits to qualifying companies, equal to the amount of state income taxes withheld from the salaries of employees from the newly created jobs
• The development project must add to the export potential of Illinois

• Participation Loan Program (PLP): Designed to work through banks and other conventional lending institutions to provide financial assistance to Illinois small businesses. Loans shall not exceed 25% of the total project and may not be used for debt refinancing or contingency funding. A business with 500 or fewer employees may apply for a PLP loan of $10,000 - $750,000.
• High Impact Business Program (HIB): A program designed to encourage large-scale economic development activities by providing tax incentives to companies that propose to make a substantial capital investment in operations and will create or retain above average number of jobs.The project must involve a minimum of $12 million investment causing the creation of 1500 full-time jobs, and must take place at a designated location in Illinois outside of an Enterprise Zone. Businesses may qualify for: sales tax exemption on building materials, an investment tax credit, an exemption from state gas and electric tax, and a state sales tax exemption on personal property used or consumed in the manufacturing process. A designated High Impact Business located in a Foreign Trade Zone or sub-zone is eligible for additional incentives including an income tax credit for a minimum of five new eligible hires, an exemption from municipal tax on utilities, an exemption from the telecommunications excise tax, and an income tax deduction for financial institutions receiving interest from loans secured by property eligible for the HIB Investment Tax Credit.

• Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP): This program supports Illinois workers’ efforts to upgrade their skills in order to remain current in new technologies and business practices, enabling companies to remain competitive, expand into new markets and introduce more efficient technologies into their operations. ETIP grants may reimburse Illinois companies for up to 50% of the cost of training their employees.